


Overwhelmed

by amethystcarnelian



Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Fluff, M/M, amplified emotions are a lot to deal with, emotion chip data, you ever see a man so beautiful that you cry?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-18 12:43:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21661027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amethystcarnelian/pseuds/amethystcarnelian
Summary: "Data was adjusting to his new emotion chip. His whole life he had dreamed of having emotions but had always expected those emotions to feel completely alien to him. He had always been viewed by almost everyone he ever met as emotionless, so he had never truly been able to see himself as anything else. However, after Geordi had integrated the chip into Data's positronic brain, he had found that the emotion chip seemed to amplify emotions that already existed."Something short and sweet
Relationships: Data/Geordi La Forge
Comments: 9
Kudos: 163





	Overwhelmed

Data was adjusting to his new emotion chip. His whole life he had dreamed of having emotions but had always expected those emotions to feel completely alien to him. He had always been viewed by almost everyone he ever met as emotionless, so he had never truly been able to see himself as anything else. However, after Geordi had integrated the chip into Data's positronic brain, he had found that the emotion chip seemed to amplify emotions that already existed. For example, he already knew that he enjoyed Sherlock Holmes books, in his own way, but now he would smile, frown, and laugh while reading them. The enjoyment was the same, it simply had new depths now, more human additions to his android version of emotion.

He sat in his quarters, with Spot curled up in his lap (ah, so this was what people meant by having a 'warm fuzzy feeling' in their chests) and Geordi curled up next to him on the sofa. He leaned against him as he worked on his padd, explaining his current predicament in Engineering. 

Data took this moment as a good chance to focus on his feelings towards Geordi. The two of them had begun dating several years ago (4.56 years ago to be precise), and Data knew that he had always loved Geordi, as much as he believed he was capable of feeling 'love', even without his emotion chip. That love, like the rest of Data's emotions, felt more intense now. When Geordi smiled Data smiled with him, while still feeling the contentment he always had. When Geordi kissed him on the cheek, Data blushed, while still experiencing the usual momentary stalling of his thought processes. Geordi was so wonderful, he was kind, and intelligent, and friendly, and brave, and compassionate, and funny, and the most brilliant person Data had ever met. And now Geordi was talking animatedly about improvements that could be made to the warp core to increase efficiency and Data was overwhelmed by how much he truly loved Geordi, how much he had always loved Geordi, even without the amplification provided by the emotion chip.

"Data? Hey, what's wrong?" Geordi put a hand on Data's cheek, it was only at that point that Data registered the wetness there.

Data blinked. "I am... crying?" he touched his cheek and found his fingers came away streaked with a yellow liquid.

"Yeah, Data, I'd say so. I think some of your internal lubricant is doubling as tears right now," Geordi put his padd down and began rubbing comforting circles into Data's back, "Do you know why you're crying?"

Data paused for a moment, assessing his emotions, trying to pinpoint which thought or event had caused which emotion, and then working out which emotion had likely prompted his tearfulness. "I believe... I was thinking about how much I care for you, immediately before I began crying. I believe I was overwhelmed by the intensity of my feelings for you. Is this a normal response?"

"Well I suppose crying isn't uncommon when a person feels overwhelmed," Geordi began wiping away some of Data's tears, "Thinking about how much you like me really made you cry, Data? I suppose you've just gotta think about me a little less then," Geordi chuckled.

"I think I will find that very difficult," Data said earnestly, "Especially at the current moment as I explore the new depths of my emotions, as many of my strongest emotions are linked to you. Being with you causes me to feel happy and calm. When you are in danger I am scared and worried. When you are safe I am relieved."

"I feel the same Data, you're a pretty big part of my life too, but you might want to-" Geordi interrupted himself with a yawn,"-want to be a bit careful about much you think about me when you're on duty, I don't think the Captain would know what to do if you started crying while at the helm… I don't know about you but I'm exhausted, do you wanna go to bed?" 

"Geordi, you should have informed me sooner that you were tired, your rest and health is extremely important to me," Data quickly began to get up, dislodging an irritated Spot, and pulling Geordi up after him.

Geordi laughed. "I'm okay Data, I know this amount of worry is new to you, but trust me when I say that I'm just fine, just ready to go to sleep is all."

The two of them readied for bed, Data humming the theme to The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a 20th century TV show that Data enjoyed, as they did so, much to Geordi's amusement. Before long they were cuddled up together, with Spot adding herself to the mix, and Data once again found himself overwhelmed, this time with a feeling of calm. Geordi was here, in his arms, Geordi loved him and he loved Geordi, and right now they were both safe and warm and peaceful. 

Data could not think of anything that would make him happier.

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the time I cried over Geordi La Forge because I just love him so much.
> 
> I don't really like the emotion chip story line in the movies, it feels like something of a disservice to Data's previous character development, so I tried to adjust the emotion chip so it involves more of Data's android emotions from the series. Let me know what you think and thank you for reading!


End file.
